Wichita eagle., 1887-07-08
EDITORIAL CORRESPONDENCE.
the National Day in the Gulf City.
GALVESTON. July 4, 1888

Taking the through south bound Sant
Fe train at Wichita at 6:15 a. M. you ar
whirled away by green walls of corn ant
through broad acres of many fields Il
which the ripened sheaves still lay as the,
fell from the modern reaper. A shor
three hours of such ride and you ar
rolled across the bridge at Arkansas City
rolled out of Kansas and rolled into th'
intermidable green and unoccupied waste
of the Indians domain, poisoning des
ert. Putting up the long grade of ont
swell and laundering down the other you
90 for hours rafting across the ICl
marion and the Salt Forl
into Oklahoma and On to tn
north Canadian and then in littl
while across the south Canadian with littl'
to break the monotony of wild prairies ant
deep red clay high banked creeks until you
reach Purcell, the new division end abou
theEceLter of the Territory north and south
where you have primitive Kansas and the
discomforts of her old settlers over again
| From Purcell on south the open prairie:
become less limitless and clumps ant
groves and lines of timber more numerous
At or o'clock the valley of the Washats
is reached, magnificent and rich country
of timber and bottom where corn and cot
toa flourish side by side ir
most luxurant fashion. Here
the white man, who for gain, has
sacrificed sentiment and consummated a
romance by an alliance with some Indian
maiden, may be found an agricultural
monarch. One enterprising American
named Wilson who had taken to his arms 8
dusky Cherokee cultivates a corn field, all
under rail fence which is said to be fifteen
miles long and from one-half to five miles
in width, thousands upon thousands OF
acres of the Indian maize all in tassel and
silk and very promising. 1t may not be
so many miles long but it takes train
something like half hour to run through
it. The Washata goes out south through
gorge in the Arbuckle
mountains through which also
the railroad runs. The river tears along in
a succession Of falls in its tortuous course
and the scenery is very attractive. The
Red River is crossed just at sun down and
dusk finds you hauling up at the first Texas
town for supper, GAINESVILLE, beautifully
located, bright and artistically built little
city. Fort Worth is reached about bed
time, yet four hundred miles from the
Gulf Sunrise next morning reveals the
dreary levels of the far south, where
meath the shadows Of the sombre moss
which swing in wierd festoons from the
dark foliaged trees which line the
lagoons and bayous where sleeps the
lazy alligator and crawls the half torpid
and monster swapping turtles. Another
land this from bright sunlit Kansas.
Galveston is reached about II o'clock
the first morning after leaving Wichita
Across an arm of the bay your train
crosses along over piles for two or three
miles and you are in the city. Galveston,
which is about the size of Wichita, seems
remarkable for two things, may be three
of them, the superiority of her darkies,
the inferiority Of her mules and her unex
celled variety of stinks. The place should
be noted for three other things, her Beach
Hotel located at tide water on the Gulf,
side, her delightfully."- formed but sallow
faced woman and her beautiful babes
These three latter matters are even more
connected than the former
three, for all the women and all the babies
come together at the Beach House In the
evening to hear the music, bathe il the
surf and loiter on the lawn and corridors of
the Beach House, which, by the way, Is a
wonderful structure, located at tide water
on the south side of the city, on whose
upon tier four stories high
and in whose halls 5000 men, women and
babies can loiter at one and the
same time, enjoying the sea breeze,
without any crowding. This house
seems great resort not only for Galveston
people, but for the fashionable people of
the interior cities, and it is surely de-
lightful place with the finest surf and
beach in the world.
But did not come down to this island
to write up either its social side or its ad
vantages as a summer resort; what for will
appear perhaps in future editorials, Still,
one must say some things, butthe EAGLES
readers shall not be bored with column
or two descriptive of its editors trip to the
gulf. It's the Mallory line of New York
steamers and Wichita's future chances to
reach the world profitably by the way of
this gulf, that will absorb the writer at
tention for two or three days.
almost forgot that l started out to tell
how the great day of Independence was
celebrated in Galveston. The truth is, we
saw but one little cracker fired off, and
that by one little niger, but it fizzled.